Bonita Cohn on thu 7 oct 99
For 6 years I attended weekly movement classes in The Feldenkrais Method,
(awareness through movement, postural integration, cortical re-education).
Moshe Feldenkrais was an Israeli physicist that developed this method using
his own awareness as he healed from a knee injury. He is deceased, and his
students, from the 70's onward, carry it on. The method picks up where
Alexander, yoga, leave off. (I heard that Moshe and Ida Rolf were lovers!)
This method has helped me learn to sit and stand, as well as how to relieve
stress from my tendonitis and sciatica. I don't go to chiropractors anymore.
I do it myself. It has informed the way I move and the way I teach.
To sit at the wheel, it is important that your upper legs are parallel to
the floor. Bend at the hip, not at the waist. I am 5'4", and have the Brent
wheel up on bricks, 2" high, and use a brick (2") under the my left foot, the
one not doing the pedal. I use the pedal with my right foot. I have a friend,
a professional thrower who hires himself out to the rich and famous and not
so famous, uses the pedal under the left foot. Sometimes I'll stand to center
12 or more pounds of clay or to work on a larger piece. The chair upon which
I sit is moveable, padded, and will "Give" instead of my back getting thrown
out. Sometimes I get rid of the splash pan and sit as close as possible to
the wheel, with my chair at the same height as the wheelhead. (If splatter is
a problem, place a big sponge at the top, "midnight" clock position, and it
will stop the spatter).
We potters must be conscious of how we move, and make sure that we do
move. Center might be a still point for the pot, and the mind, but bad for
the back. No twisting while holding weight away from the body. Common sense
things. Let go of muscles not in use. Unclench the fist when its not doing
anything. I could go on and on. I've seen Feldenkrais' books in used
bookstores for 2 bucks! "Awareness through movement" classes are held at
dance and yoga centers. Get into a class and give it some time. It is not
about exercise and aerobics, or pain, or strength, but letting go, and moving
"smartly" and efficiently. It has changed my life. The people I know who have
the wheel up on high legs have already had back surgery. That's not gonna be
me!
Bonita in San Francisco, 30 years of potting.
http://cpmg.com/anagama
http://silverhawk.com/ex99/cohn
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